Chaos
by XcityofsmilesX
Summary: Kingston, Ali, Bruce, and Jack Dixon only wanted to find their father/husband, Daryl. Daryl wanted to be with his family again. In a world where chaos has become the norm, anything seemed to be possible. (Daryl/OC)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Rick Grimes and Kingston Dixon got out of the police car together. Kingston puts a finger to her lips, gesturing to both her children in the back and to Rick to be quiet. She quickly tossed Rick the empty gas can and once he caught it, he gave her a nod. The two of them began to slowly walk towards the abandoned gas station.

Kingston cautiously removed her crossbow from her back, holding it up as the two of them walked past several vehicles with decomposing bodies in them. Kingston bit her lip, ignoring the foul stench and the buzzing of the flies as they reached the gas station, now seeing the 'NO GAS' sign. The two look at each other, Kingston giving a simple shrug, and they turned and walked back to their car.

The two paused,however, as they heard footsteps. Rick glanced over at Kinston, who readied her crossbow, and he slowly knelt down and looked under the car. He sees small pink slippers shuffling toward a teddy bear. The little girl reached down, picked it up and resumed shuffling along. Rick quickly got to his feet and gestured for Kingston to follow him.

"Little girl?" she didn't turn around, "I'm a policeman. Little girl." She stops and Kingston's finger went to the trigger.

"Don't be afraid. Okay? Little girl." She slowly turns around, revealing to both of them her true form. A walker with missing parts of her cheek. She groans and starts to shuffle towards Rick and Kingston. Before she could reach either of them, an arrow is lodged in her eye. The little girl falls to the ground, finally dead. Rick looks back at Kingston, who's pulling the string back on her crossbow. Kingston looks up at Rick, who has a look of shock upon his face, and she shrugs.

"I told ya so," she remarked as she walked over to the walker and pulled the arrow out, "Tis is da world now."

**-TWD Before the Walkers-**

Kingston let out a happy sigh as she leaned back in her office chair. Only ten more minutes until she had to go pick up the kids. And then she was done with this place until Monday, when the routine would start all over again. At times, it sucked to be the supervisory medical officer.

"Hey," Edwin Jenner knocked on her office door, "got the reports you wanted." He held them up for her to see.

"Ah, fer Project Bluegard?" Kingston asked, her Irish twang seeping out as the clocked ticked closer and closer to four. Edwin walked in and handed them to her.

"Actually...it's for the other one." Edwin corrected in a low tone as he sat down in the chair across from her desk. Kingston nodded and placed them in her bag, she'd worry about them later.

"Tank ye Docter Jenner." Kingston remarked as she gather her things together. If she stayed here another minute, someone was joing to want something and she'd never leave.

"Gotta go get the kids?" Edwin asked as she put on her jacket and grabbed her keys.

"Yep! See ya Monday!"  
><strong>-TWD-<strong>

"Mommy! Mommy! Look at what I made today!" Ali cried as she ran out of school. As soon as she reached her mother, she jumped up and down, holding her picture as high as she could.

"Lass, I can't see it if ye keep jumpin' around." Kingston remarked with a chuckle. Ali stopped her jumping and gave her mother the picture.

"Is dat a squirrel?" Kingston asked with a laugh.

"Yep! It's for daddy, cause he calls me his little squirrel!" Ali explained, bouncing up and down with joy.

"I tink he'll love it," she kissed her daughter on the top of her head, "Now, where are ye brothers?"

"Bruce left his cleats on the soccer field," Ali explained and pointed over where the boys were running from, "Daddy said if they were late then he wouldn't take them to the traps."  
>"We're...here." Jack huffed out, clenching his side and bending over.<p>

"I see dat. Get in. I wanna do somefin to surprise your Da."

**-TWD Now-**

"Mommy! Mommy! There's someone outside!" Ali cried as she ran into her mother's room. Kingston paused the knife lesson she was giving her sons.

"There's biters everywhere dummy." Bruce retorted, earning him a smack on the back of his head from his mother.

"No! He's dressed in a hospital gown. He went in the house next door and came back out. He's sitting on the steps outside." Kingston sighed and quickly stuck one of the knives in her sheave. She handed Jack a shovel.

"You two. Outside wif me. Ali stay by da door, keep somefin wit ya."Her children nodded and she quickly kissed each of them on the forehead. She didn't like that they did that, follow violent orders, but now, it was unfortunately kill or be killed. And Kingston still had a husband to reunite with.

She led the way downstairs and then led the boys out of the back door. Once they saw the man that Ali spoke of, they went separate ways, they boys towards the man and Kingston towards a roaming walker.

He turned around and Jack quickly hit him in the face, making the walker much more attentive now. Kingston quickly ran over and stabbed it in the forehead, making it fall to the ground.

"Ma! Ma, we got him!" Bruce called as Kingston quickly removed the knife from the walker's forehead and jogged back over to her sons.

"Carl...Carl? I found you…" the man muttered as Kingston came and pushed the boys behind her.

"What'd he say? I taught I 'eard 'im call ya somefing."

"He called me Carl." Jack answered, making Kingston frown and look down at the man. Her medically trained eyes immediately went to the bandage on the side of his chest. She pushed the boys back a little further, it never hurts to be a little more cautious in this world now.

"Oi! What's dat bandage for?" Kingston asked, pointing at it with her knife.

"What?"  
>"What's da bandage for?" Kingston repeated, leaning down. The man gave Kingston one last look before his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he passed out.<p>

"What are we going to do now Ma?" Jack asked as Kingston hung her head. She sighed and lifted it, looking over at her sons.

"We're gonna help 'im."  
><strong>-TWD-<strong>

Ali carried in a jug of clean water for her mother. Jack and Bruce stood side by side, both holding bats, as they watched the unconscious man. Sure, it might not be the best sight to wake up to but Kingston couldn't take any chances.

"Tank ya dearie." Kingston said as Ali poured the clean water into the bowl. Kingston began to rub the blood off her hands, humming to herself.

"Ma? I think he's waking up." Bruce said. Kingston quickly dried her hands and stood up, Ali immediately standing behind her mother.

"Anytin' else we should know about besides dat gunshot?" Kingston asked the man, keeping a hand on her handgun.

"How'd you know it was a gunshot wound?" the man wearily asked.

"I'm from Ireland. You'd be surprised," she answered, taking a step towards the man, "Just answer dis, did ye get bit?"  
>"Bit?"<br>"Bit. Chewed. Maybe a scratch?" Jack asked, gripping tighter onto his bat.

"No, I got shot." Kingston looked to Jack and gave him a nod. Jack gave his brother his bat and leaned towards the man, a hand out to feel his man leaned back, warily eyeing the boy.

"He just wants to check for a fever." Bruce said, making the man frown.

"I don't think I have one." he remarked as Jack felt his forehead. He looked up at his mother and shook his head.

"Be hard ta miss." Kingston remarked as Jack leaned back, resuming his spot next to his brother. Kingston pulled out a pocket knife, a smaller one than the one she used to kill the walker outside, and cut his wrists and ankles free.

"We're gonna go make dinner. I've left some clothes out fer ya. Come down when yer able." Kingston shooed the children out, and followed them until the man stopped her.

"Thank you, Miss…"  
>"Mrs," she corrected, "Kingston Dixon."<br>"Rick Grimes."

**-TWD Before the Walkers-**

"Come on, off ye go. Inside, your da will be here soon. Let's get yer homework done." Kingston commanded as she opened the back door of the car, allowing Ali to jump out and scurry inside. The twins, however, were not so enthusiastic as their sister.

"Mom! It's Friday, we've got all weekend." Bruce complained, slowly drudging out and walking towards the door.

"Ye want to go huntin' with your da' this weekend? Go get yer work done. Off ye pop." She pushed Bruce towards the door, and Jack slowly followed, making Kingston chuckle as she went back to the car and got her bag. She glanced at the folder that Edwin had given her before she left and then decided to throw it in the car and leave it there.

Her job at the CDC came last on the weekends.

**-TWD Now-**

Rick walks down the stairs, seeing the Dixon family get dinner ready.

"This place...It's Fred and Cindy Drake's." He remarked as he wrapped the blanket he had tighter around his body. He did change into the clothes Kingston had left out for him, he just couldn't seem to get warm enough.

"Never met 'em." Kingston remarked as she placed tables at each spot. Jack followed by putting down forks, Bruce napkins, and Ali placed beans and some of the leftover cooked squirrel on each plate.

"I've been here. This is their place."

"It was empty when we got here. Ali found it." Jack explained and his sister brightly smiled as she sat down at her place. The other Dixon's followed suit, simply waiting for Rick to join them. However, their gunshot victim went to the window and started to pull back the blankets.

"Don't do tat," Kingston walked over and removed his hand, making Rick look at her, "Tey'll see da light. Dere's more of tem out there than usual." Kingston walked back over to the table, Rick slowly following her. When she finally sat down, Rick spoke.

"You stabbed that man today." Kingston frowned.

"Man?" She repeated, just how out of it was he?  
>"No man…"Bruce stated, making his mother look at him.<p>

"Da hell was tat out of yer mouth?" HIs siblings snickered into their plates as Bruce quietly corrected his grammar.

"You stabbed him. In this street, out front, a man." Rick insisted.

"Apparently, ye need glasses. It was a walker."

"Come on." Rick said, looking to the Dixon family to see if they were telling him some kind of joke.

"Sit down, before you fall down," Slowly, Rick takes the seat next to Ali, "Let's get ya sometin' to eat."

"Mommy," Kingston looked to her daughter, "Blessing." Kingston smiled at her daughter and the Dixon's all joined hands. Ali grabbed Rick's hand, making him look at the young girl in surprise. However, he slowly lowers his head as the Dixon's all lower their heads and close their eyes.

"Father, we tank thee for this food...for being together...for givin' Mr. Grimes here the strength ta survive. We simply ask tat ya bring home Daryl. Or give us sometin' to go on. Amen."

"Amen." the children all chorused after their mother. Everyone began to eat.

"Rick," Rick looks over at Kingston, "do ya even know what's goin' on?"  
>"I woke up today. In a hospital. Came home, that's all I know." Rick answered, shoveling another spoonful of beans in his mouth.<p>

"But you know about the dead people right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I saw a lot of that. Out on the loading docks, hauling trucks."  
>"No," Kingston shook her head, "Not ta one's dey put down. The one's they didn't. The walkers. Like da one I stabbed today."<p>

"Cause he would have ripped into you." Bruce continued.

"Try to eat you, take some flesh for dinner at least." Jack finished for his twin, making their mother roll her eyes at the theatrics her boys were doing.

"But I guess if tis is da first you're hearin', I know how it must sound…"  
>"They're out there now, in the street?" Rick clarified, pointing over at the window with his fork.<p>

"Yeah. Dere're even more active after dark. Probably just da cool air or sometin'. But we'll be fine as long as we stay quiet and stay inside. De'll probably wander off by morin'. But Rick," he looked over at the Irish woman, "Dere's one thing you need to remember. Do not get bit. A bit, maybe even a scratch will kill ya."  
>"That's why we were scared, we didn't know if a walker had already got to you." Ali explained, making her mother nod.<p>

"But yer safe now. Dat's all dat matters."

**-TWD-**

"Are they twins?" Rick quietly asked Kingston as he helped her clean the dinner dishes. She looked over at her boys, who were playing gold fish with their sister, and she nodded.

"Bruce is older by two minutes. Never let's Jack live dat down."

"How old are they?"

"De boys are fourteen. Ali's about nine, she probably had 'er birfday but we've been losing count of da days." The two fell quiet until Kingston spoke up, "How old is Carl?" Rick looked confused, "Ya said his name before ya went unconscious. Put two and two together. Not dat hard."

"He's Ali's age." He answered with a smile, putting the last dish away and then walking over to the living room with Kingston. The two sat on the couch together, the Dixon children sitting in front of them.

"And he's with his ma?" Kingston asked.

"I hope so." Rick honestly answered.

"Mommy?" Ali began, glancing up from her cards.

"Yes lass?"

"Did you ask him?" She finished, flipping the cards around and placing them on the ground. She knew her brothers, they'd most certainly find a way to look at them. Kingston chuckled as the boys looked over, wanting to hear the answer themselves.

"Yer gun shot," she gestured to his chest, "We got a little bet going between da four of us. Boys say yer a bank robber...Ali and I said spy…" Rick chuckled, gently laying his arm on his chest.

"Yeah...that's me. Deadly as Dilinger. Kapow," he looked down at the children, "Sheriff's deputy."

"Sheriff was my second guess!" Bruce cried, making his siblings roll their eyes. It most certainly wasn't , Bruce thought that maybe Rick was Batman. Suddenly, a car alarm went off outside, causing all of them to jump. Ali quickly grabbed her handgun.

"It's alright, one of dem must've bumped a car." Kingston assured Rick as she slowly stood up.

"You sure?" Rick asked as Kingston walked over to the window, pulling the makeshift curtain aside. Indeed, one of the walkers was repeatedly ramming itself into a car.

"Yeah, just dim the lights to be safe." The kids quickly abandoned their card game and dimmed their lanterns, creating a faint glow in the room. Rick walked over to Kingston and glanced outside with her.

"Its dat blue one," Rick could see it, "It's happened before. Just have ta wait fer it to finish."

"That noise...will it bring more of them?"

"Oh, most certainly. But tere's notin' we can do about it. I can't take dem all by myself, you can barely stand witout grabbing onta sometin', and Jack and Bruce don't have da best aim."

"We're working on it." Jack remarked from the ground, where the siblings had resumed their game.

"Come on. I'm sure dere's sometin' in here fer you and I to do."

**-TWD-**

The next morning, since Rick was now well-rested, Kingston decided to take him out and teach him how to deal with walkers. She figured it was good to use the time to teach the kids as well.

"Are we sure...they're dead?" Rick confirmed as they walked to the front, where a walker was lying up against the fence post.

"Aye, for da hundredth time, but remember…"  
>"It's gotta be the head." her children all simultaneously said, making Rick look sheepish. Ali stayed by her mother while the boys, each carrying a bat slowly walked over to the walker. Said walker rose to its feet and began to stumble towards the three men. Since Rick is the tallest, his hit goes straight to the head and then Jack and Bruce slam their bats in the walker's head just for good measure.<p>

Exhausted, Rick falls to the ground, clutching his side.

"You alright Mr. Grimes?" Bruce asked.

"Need a moment."  
><strong>-TWD-<strong>

"They're alive. My wife and son," Rick said as they entered his house, "At least they were when they left…"  
>"How can ya know? By da looks of tis place, anyone desperate enough could've come through 'ere."<p>

"I found empty drawers in the bedroom. They packed some clothes. Not a lot. But enough to travel."

"Anybody could've broken in here to take clothes." Jack remarked. Rick led them to his dinning room.

"You see the framed photos on the wall?" the Dixons all looked around, seeing that the walls were bare, "Neither do I. Some random thief took those too, you think?" he opens a cabinet, showing, "My photo albums, family pictures, all gone."

"Do you think they went to Atlanta mommy?" Ali asked her mother. Kingston sighed, she certainly hoped no one was stupid enough to go there.

"Why? What's there in Atlanta?"

"Before da broadcast stopped, they said dey had a refugee center. Biggest lie ever but it certainly drew people dere."

"Why's it a lie?" Rick asked.

"Mom worked at the CDC." Bruce said, crossing his arms. Rick looked to Kingston, who gave him a nod.

"Even tough I'm totally against goin' back dere. We'll help ya with findin' dem." Rick gave each of them a thanks before walking into the kitchen and grabbing a set of keys for the police station.

**-TWD-**

"Really!?" Ali cried, making everyone else immediately shush her. The other Dixon's were certainly happy to hear of the possibility of a warm shower, however, they didn't want to get attack by walkers when taking said shower. Rick grinned at the young girl as he led the group to the men's shower room.

"Ladies is across the hall." He said and gestured to the door. Kingston gave him a nod and pushed Ali in. The twins smirked and ran into the boys locker room, immediately shedding off their clothes and jumping into separate showers.

"Oh yes!" Jack cried once the hot water hit his skin, his twin let out his own cries of joy, making Rick grin as he began to shave off the beard that had grown during his coma. Once everyone was done and dressed, Rick led them to the gun room.

"Why isn't Atlanta safe?" he asked Kingston, making her sigh.

"Army. CDC. Too much ta tell ya in too little time." Rick understood, it was something that wasn't meant for the ears of children. He unlocked the gun room and Kingston joined him in unloading all that they could.

"A lot of it's gone missing." Rick remarked.

"Mommy?" Kingston looked at her daughter, "Can I learn to shoot?" Ali was holding her mother's crossbow, making her immediately wish she didn't have it because she always had a hard time telling her daughter no. Granted, her husband was worse.

"Only if Mr. Grimes agrees to it." She finally said. Her daughter didn't have to carry a gun, she could certainly find a crossbow. God knows she knew that weapon well enough.

"It's not a toy Ali. You pull the trigger, you have to mean it. Always remember that Ali." She nodded and handed her mother her weapon. Rick hands the boys a duffle bag full of various guns.

"Take that outside. It should be the first car closest to the door." The twins nodded and Ali quickly followed them.

"Army came. That's when it all went to shit," Kingston said, shouldering her crossbow and closing the door behind them, "We were supposed to be findin' sometin', anythin' but...we had families to get to. I don't know who's left at the CDC."

"I'm sorry... " the two were quiet until they reached the door to the cars outside and Rick grabbed her arm, "Is Daryl your husband?" Kingston gave him a nod and he left it at that, allowing her to go outside. She was in the same boat he was, their spouse was out there in this terrible world, and all they wanted was to be reunited.

"Car's loaded Mr. Grimes!" The adults looked at one another before they hear a groan, causing the group to look over at the fence.

"Leon Basset?" he looked over at the confused faces of the Dixons, "Didn't think much of him. Careless and dumb, but...can't leave him like this."

"Ya know they'll 'ear da shot." Kingston reminded him.

"Let's not be here when they'll show up." Kingston quickly rushed the kids over to the car while Rick went over to the walker. He shot it in the head and quickly joined the Dixons in the squad car.

**-TWD, Before the Walkers-**

"Daddy's driving up!" Ali cried, scrambling into the kitchen. Kingston quickly placed the last plate on the table before ushering the children to go hide in the living room.

"King? You and the kids home?" Daryl walked in, throwing his keys on the table by the door. He turned on the light.

"Surprise!" they all cried, jumping up. Daryl jumped in surprise but accepted all the hugs from his kids and even a kiss from his wife.

"What's this all for?" he asked with a smile.

"It's your birthday daddy!"

**-TWD-**

No one asked why Rick momentarily left them, they knew he must've had a good reason. Kingston let out another curse in gaelic as she tried to get the radio working.

"Mom are you cursing?" Bruce asked from the back, threading his fingers through the cage.

"Yes but thankfully you don't know what I'm sayin'." Rick chuckled.

"Guess how many languages Mommy speaks?" Ali remarked, looking up at Rick, who glanced in the rear view mirror at the young girl.

"How many?" he asked her.

"Twelve." Kingston answered with wires in her mouth and then gave a thankful cry. She quickly removed the wires from her mouth and handed Rick the radio.

"I thought you were a Supervisory Medical Officer." Kingston glared at him, and he chuckled, turning on the radio.

"Broadcasting on emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond. Hello. Hello. Can anybody hear my voice? Anybody out there? Anybody hear me, please respond. Hello, can you hear my voice?" It was quiet until Rick looked over at Kingston and she gave him a nod for him to continue, "Hello? Hello? Can you hear my voice?"

He sighs and hands it over to Kingston.

"I'm da worst person to do dis!" she hissed, covering the radio with her hand.

"You can speak without an accent can't you?" Kingston rolled her eyes. Her children eagerly leaned forward, wanting to hear their mother speak as an American.

"Anybody...who reads, please respond," the children covered their mouths to keep the giggles from escaping, "Broadcasting on emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads...please respond." They waited and decided to try again to the clock in the squad car, they tried at the top of every hour until the car ran out of gas.

"Grab your tings kids." Kingston ordered and grabbed her own things. While the Dixons were grabbing everything, Rick pulled a photograph of his family out of the driver's visor and helped gather the supplies. Once it was done, they left the squad car behind, and began walking. "It's like livin' in Ireland again," Kingston remarked, "Ya drivin' home, too damn drunk to remember that you barely had enough gas to get to da bar in da first place." Rick grinned

"Mom you cussed!" Kingston rolled her eyes.

"Aye, ye get a freebie. I'd suggest you don't waste it." Finally, the group reaches a house.

"Hello?" Rick calls as they get closer, he sets his things down and the rest follow suit, though Kingston still held her crossbow, "Police officer out here. Can I borrow some gas? Hello? Hello? Anybody home?" Kingston and Rick walk up to the house, leaving the kids with their supplies. Kingston slowly walked up to a window, hearing the faint buzzing of flies, and wishing she didn't have amazing ears.

"Rick." He walked over, seeing the sight of couple who owned the farm, "Believe me, they aren't da only ones who did stupid shit like that."

"Mom! There's a truck!" Bruce called, the adults looked at each other before running over and examining the vehicle themselves. Though neither of them found keys. Kingston kissed Bruce's head in thanks as Rick sits down on a bench under a tree, frustrated.

"Um...Mom?" Jack pulled on her shirt and pointed over to a field, where three horses sat.

"Well, dat works." Kingston remarked, pulling Rick up on his feet and pointing over at the horses. The two quickly found harnesses and slowly walked into the field with the horses.

"Easy no, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you. Nothing like that. More like a proposal." Rick began as he and Kingston slowly walked together, side by side.

"Ya do realize you're talkin' to a horse?"

"You're a horse expert now?"

"No but me uncle's a vet. Watch cowboy." Kingston slowly walked over to a white horse with brown spots and stoked its nose. She slowly fastened the harness on and then sent a triumphant smirk to Rick.

Once all the horses were harnessed, Rick took his own horse, the twins another, and Kingston and Ali the last. Rick squirmed on top of his, making Kingston laugh.

"I haven't done this in years." Rick defended and then looked over at the twins, who were riding like they had grown up on a horse.

The group finally reached the outskirts of Atlanta, where the highway going out of Atlanta was overcrowded with cars while the highway going in was empty. Rick led the others down the empty highway, the horses hooves clicking on the road. Once they reached the inner part of the city, they rode in silence,keeping an eye out for any trouble. They pass by a few walkers and simply go on.

"Just a few. Nothin' a horse can't outrun." Kingston said as they walked by a tank, where a body was being pecked by crows. Ali grimaced and Jack, who was in front controlling the horse, steered his horse farther away from the tank. Suddenly, Rick looked up in the sky, as if he'd heard something. And then he took off.

"Rick!"

"Mr. Grimes!" He didn't turn around, making Kingston curse.

"What do we do Mom?" Jack asked

"We're moving." Kingston finally decided, seeing more and more walkers appear. She snapped the reins. Kingston quickly led her children through the city, only shooting at the walkers unless she absolutely had to.

"What's gonna happen to Mr. Grimes?" Ali asked as her mother helped her down from the horse. She glanced down the street, seeing the swarm of walkers were Rick was.

"'Opefully he was smart enough to get in the tank." She remarked and then smacked the horse's ass. Sending it down the street. It certainly did bring the walker's atttention away but not towards the horse. Towards them.

"Alright. We've got to run." Kingston said, slowly backing up.

"Where?" Bruce and Jack simultaneously asked.

"CDC!" She answered, saying the first thing that came to her. She quickly put Ali on the horse with Bruce and Jack.

"Don't go in there until I get there. Understood?" The children nodded, "Jack, yer in charge."

"What?!" Bruce protested but Kingston didn't have time for this. She hit the horses ass and it bolted off. Kingston slowly started off towards the direction of her old workplace, giving a thankful smile when she saw Rick run off with an asian boy.

"Good." And with that, she went in a different direction.

**-TWD-**

The sun was setting by the time she had finally reached the CDC. Her kids came running up to her and hugged her tight, happy to see that their mother was alive and in one piece.

"Alright, we're going in da back way." She quickly led them to the back, where she entered every day before the world went to shit. She typed in her password and ushered the kids in. Once the door was shut, she leaned against it and let out a thankful sigh.

"Is Mr. Grimes okay Mom?" Bruce asked after Kingston had a moment to catch up. She gave him a nod and led him down the hall.

"Drop your weapons!" A voice called when they reached the lab. Kingston rolled her eyes, she knew who it was.

"Jenner!" she turned around, seeing her colleague holding an army sniper, "I do believe I 'ave jurisdiction."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

For the second time, the Dixons were allowed a nice, hot shower. A shower where they didn't have to worry if the hot water, or water in general, ran out. As Kingston showered, her mind wandered between Rick, Daryl, Jenner, her children...it was never on one topic for too long.

Kingston knew Rick had safely made it out of the walker hoard, she could only hope and pray that the Asian boy that found him led Rick out of the city. No one should be in that hell hole longer than they have to be. Granted, Kingston wanted to avoid the place altogether, but some things were apparently unavoidable.

"Maybe Rick found Daryl…" a small voice in her head whispered but was soon pushed aside due to the foolish thought of it. Slowly, she sat down on the tile floor, the warm water pounding on her back.

"Please be safe."

**-TWD-**

"Best not to dwell on it," Morales said, interrupting Rick's train of thought, "Merle got left behind. Nobody's gonna be sad he didn't come back...except maybe Daryl."

"Daryl?" Rick questioned, unfortunately knowing the name. If it was Kingston's husband, Rick didn't know how he was going to explain to him he left his wife, children, and now brother in Atlanta. A city that Kingston told him to avoid at all costs.

"His brother," Morales answered, making Rick mentally grimace. As he turned back to the window, Glenn drives by, hollering with joy.

"At least somebody's having a good day."

Yeah, at least someone was.

**-TWD-**

As Jack and Bruce played a game of Chess, Ali sat in front of her mother on the floor while Kingston braided her wet hair.

"Mom?" Jack asked, looking over.

"Aye?" Kingston asked, her mouth full of bobby pins. Finally, she tied the end of the braid and bobby-pinned her daughter's bangs back.

"You know we can't stay here for long," Jack began, momentarily abandoning the chess game, "Where are we gonna go next?" Ali scrambled over to the bookshelf once her mother was finished and began to look for something to read.

"Trust me, I know," Ali came over with a book in hand and sat next to her mother, "We'll stay da night and head fer Hershel's in da mornin'."

"We'll need a map." Bruce commented, playing his move.

"And a car." Ali inputted.

"Aye, I know," she picked up Ali's book, _Peter Pan, _"but I tink we're allowed to stop and rest fer awhile."And so, Kingston picked up the book and began to read.

**-TWD-**

"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion...all those things but...disoriented comes closest. I'm glad that Kingston found me when she did. I probably would've died." Rick explained to the group around the campfire.

**-TWD-**

"It'll probably take you a couple of hours to get to your Uncle's," Jenner explained as he and Kingston stood in her old office, a road map laid out on her desk, "You'll just have to make sure you get a car with enough gas."

"Tank ya Jenner."  
>"Maybe Daryl will be there." Jenner remarked as she folded up the map.<p>

"Maybe," she pocketed the map and then pulled out a letter she had written earlier, "I know you've done a lot fer us."

"Not really."  
>"But I need ya to do me anoder favor."<p>

**-TWD-**

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale asked the group, "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind. I can't imagine how he'll act when he hears about his wife and children."

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me." T-Dog said, making Rick shake his head.

"I cuffed Merel, and I abandoned Kingston. It's on me."

**-TWD-**

"G'night." Kingston muttered as she pulled the blanket up on Jack. She kissed his forehead before turning to the other side of the room, where Bruce was laying on his back.

"Mom?"

"Aye?" He turned his head, looking up at his mother as she tucked him in. Granted, there was a time when he thought that he was getting 'too old' for things like this. Now, he cherished every moment of it. He'd already lost his father, he didn't want to lose her too.

"Do you think Dad's still alive?" Kingston paused and then gave her son a small smile.

"Aye. If it was between Merle and yer Da, Merle'd be da dead one." Bruce cracked a small smile.

"Sleep well Bruce." Kingston said, leaning down and giving him a kiss on his forehead. Once she walked out of the room and closed the door, she entered her own room and pulled out a crumpled picture that she had managed to save from their car. It was of Ali's fifth birthday, Daryl wanted to take her shooting. So they climbed together into the car and drove to their cabin, where the had some private property. Ali managed to shoot a rabbit with her own crossbow, but began to cry when she realized that she'd killed it. Bruce had snapped this picture while Daryl had begun to skin it and Kingston was trying to calm her daughter down.

"Oh Daryl," she set the picture on the bedside table, "ye better be alive." She shut the light off, blankly staring up at the ceiling until a few tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. She quickly wiped them away.

"Quit this nonsense Kingston Dixon." She muttered to herself and turned on her side, pulling her blanket up.

-**TWD-**

"Son of a bitch!" the group hears Daryl yell as he comes out of the trees, "That's my deer!" He gestures with his crossbow to what's left of the deer he had been spending the past few days tracking, "Look at it. All gnawed on by this...filthy, disease-bearing motherless poxy bastard!" He gives the walker body a kick.

"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale remarked as calmly as he could. If Daryl was getting upset over a walker munching on a deer, God knows what would happen when he found out his family were left behind in Atlanta.

"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'on golden pond'?" He looked down at the deer, "I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison." He leaned down, examining where the walker had chewed, "What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" He gestured to it and looked to Shane.

"I would not risk it." Shane answered, making Daryl sigh.

"That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel...about a dozen or so. That'll have to do." He stands up, gathering his squirrels. Suddenly, the head of the walker begins to move its teeth, making Amy grimace.

"Come on, people. What the hell?" He shoots the head with one of his arrows, "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" With that, he starts off towards the camp, with a small group following behind him.

"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! Let's stew 'em up." Daryl yelled as he entered the camp. Shane sighed, he'd hoped to deal with this later but apparently there's no time like the present.

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane said, jogging up and standing in front of the younger Dixon.

"About what?"

"About Merle. There was a…"Shane wasn't sure how to put this, "There was a problem in Atlanta."Daryl stood his ground, looking down for a moment before looking at the former cop.

"He dead?" Daryl asked.

"We're not sure." Shane gently answered, knowing that this was soon going to turn south. It was very rare that Dixon could keep his temper under control. Granted, he wasn't as bad as his brother but he still had a temper.

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl argued, not seeing the logic in his answer.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick said, coming into the conversation to help Shane.

"Who are you?" Daryl spat.

"Rick Grimes."  
>"Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" Rick sighed, this certainly was the moment he'd been dreading.<p>

"Your brother was a danger to us all...so I handcuffed him to a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal." Daryl glared at Rick, ready to attack before he opened up his mouth again, "I also found...your wife and your children. But...I lost them in Atlanta."Daryl couldn't take it, he attacked.

**-TWD-**

"Pile in lads and lass, we've got us a car!" Kingston exclaimed once the car roared to life after she finished hot-wiring it. The truck they found was in pretty good condition considering everything that had happened outside the CDC.

"How much gas?" Jack asked as he got in after his brother and sister, sitting in the passenger seat.

"Enough to get us there. I certainly don't plan on comin' back, any of ye do?" She looked at her children, who all shook their heads, "Taught so." And with that, they began their drive. As they left the city, Kingston made sure to keep any sort of eye out for Rick or the Asian boy that led him away from the Walker hoard. Unfortunately, no such luck. And so, with the burned down city of Atlanta in their rearview mirror, the Dixons headed on.

Though what none of them noticed, was a van that pulled in the back of the city as they left.

**-TWD-**

"They'd better be okay." Daryl muttered, already furious with Rick and T-Dog. After finally hearing that his wife and children might be alive, Daryl felt hope, only to be crushed when Rick said that he lost them. Daryl brushed his hand, again making sure that his wedding ring was still there.

"It's only my word that matters for Merle. I told you the geeks can't get at him. The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us." T-Dog reminded Daryl.

"It's not Merle, I'm worried about." Daryl thought. He knew that Merle would be fine on his own. It was Kingston and the kids he was worried about, Kingston was the only one that knew how to use various weapons as well as he did. The boys weren't terrible but Ali...Ali wouldn't be able to make it in this world if she didn't have her brothers or her mother. As Daryl continued to think, Glenn stopped the van.

"We walk from here." Everyone got out and began to walk along the railroad tracks.

**-TWD-**

As Ali and Bruce slept in the back, Jack was playing navigator for his mother.

"I told ye, I don't need no damn map. Been to Hershel's thousands o' times." Kingston muttered as they sped along the road. By her calculations, she didn't have a Ph.D for nothing, they'd reach Hershel's in an hour.

"I just don't want to get lost and have us run out of gas." Jack explained as he went back to examining the map. Kingston rolled her eyes, of the twins, Jack certainly was the more responsible one. Kingston and Daryl both knew that Bruce only passed through school because Jack helped him out.

"Why're you turning on your blinkers?" Jack asked as Kingston turned the left blinker on to turn. Kingston turned it off as soon as she turned and shrugged.

"Habit, I guess."  
>-<strong>TWD-<strong>

Rick was beginning to have a bit of a panic attack, the group had found the remains of the horses the Dixon's rode as they went to the department store where Merle had been chained. Granted, he didn't tell Daryl that they rode the horses because he didn't want to anger him anymore but he also didn't see any evidence of human remains. So maybe there was a little bit of hope left. They entered the building, slowly going up floor by floor.

"Damn," Daryl commented when they found a female walker roaming around on one of the floors, "you are one ugly skank." And with that, an arrow went through her head.

**-TWD-**

Kingston was getting a little worried, the gas wasn't going as far as she thought it would, and they were still about twenty minutes from Hershel's farm. Now, they could walk once they'd ran out but she didn't want to take the risk of someone or something attacking. So, with a deep breath, she pressed a little harder on the gas.

**-TWD-**

As the group finally made it to the top, T-Dog cuts through the padlock and Daryl pushes through.

"Merle! Kingston!" he looks around, "Jack! Bruce! Ali!" He frantically keeps turning, as if he's going to miss any of his family members. Though something did catch his eyes, and it made him begin to sob.

"No! No! No!" the rest of the men remain silent as they see the bloody saw, the empty handcuff and Merle's hand on the ground. "No! No!"

**-TWD-**

Kingston sighed in relief as she pulled into Hershel's drive and slowly drove down the dirt road down to his house.

"Mommy?" Ali muttered as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Time to wake up lassie, we're here!" Kingston remarked with a smile as she looked in the rearview mirror at her daughter. Ali's eyes went wide and then smacked Bruce until he was awake and complaining about being woken up. However, his complaints died down when he saw the familiar farmhouse coming into view.

"We're really here?" Bruce asked in amazement. Kingston smiled as she put the truck in park, seeing her cousins come out with Hershel behind them.

"We're here."


	3. Author Note

To my humble and patient readers-

I know I've fallen behind on each of my stories, however I plan to make it up as soon as possible. I also do have reasons.

Mainly, someone very close to me passed away not too long ago after a long and hard battle with both brain cancer and lung cancer. My Grandmother Sally was a beautiful woman who enjoyed spending life with those she loved and had an endless amount of patience. It was hard for my mom to pick herself back up again after her death.

Secondly, I just finished with school-making it into my senior year. And my job has required me to work more hours.

I thank all of you for reading my stories. I hope to have something up by the end of this week and maybe even a poll for a new story idea.

Thank You all

-XcityofsmilesX


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Kingston remembered why her and Daryl didn't buy a farm as their first house. She _despised _the chores that came with a farm. Granted, growing up in Ireland her family had a farm but she certainly didn't enjoy waking up at godforsaken hours to milk cows. No thank you. She'd rather swing into a Quik Trip to pick up milk before going to her home outside the city.

Well...any milk in stores now would be long expired but that was besides the point.

"Ma!" a twin called as Kingston threw more logs into her pile. She removed the ax from the stump as her three children came running towards her.

"Ya shouldn't run towards a woman wiv an ax." She remarked to her children as she placed a log down, rose the ax, and cut it in half. With a huff, she wiped more sweat off of her forehead with a bandana she had tied around her wrist.

"We...we were playing soccer…" Bruce began as his mother placed another log on the stump.

"Football." She corrected, raising the ax above her head and then dropping it with a grunt, cutting the log in half. She removed the split log, placing it on the growing pile and then grabbing another one to cut.

"Football." Jack corrected for his brother, "and we were using the barn door as the goal and Ali kicked the ball, scoring a goal." Kingston didn't see where this was going, she was happy her kids got a chance to play football anymore. Hell, all of them were ecstatic when they got a chance to _shower._ Throw in hot water and it was like the heavens had opened, showering them with wonderful hot holy water.

"And the barn started to growl." Kingston paused, lowering her ax and then looking at her children.

"Show me." Her three children quickly led her to the barn, explaining everything that they had heard but she didn't pay much attention. Barns weren't supposed to _growl_. Once they'd reached it, they quickly grew quiet. Kingston hoped and prayed that it wasn't walkers (even though that was what would make the most sense in this case). She pulled her hunting knife from the sheaf, holding it up in defense and instructing her kids to stay behind her.

Kingston slowly put her ear to the door of the barn and then quickly jerked back when it started to thump and groan. She glanced around, looking for another way in, due to the fact that the barn door was pad locked shut. She quickly sheathed the knife. Finding an opening for the hay, she had the twins use her feet to raise her in. Once she shimmed her way in, she slowly stood up and walked over to look down, her eyes going wide at the sight below,

"Holy fuck."

**-TWD-**

When Kingston and Daryl first started dating, she called him a red-neck rebel without a cause. She meant that he tended to throw himself into a problem without logically thinking about it (the various bar fights he'd gotten into with Merle were proof enough). Granted, that may have been true for the first several months that they two of them dated but he liked to have believe that becoming a husband and a father helped even out his temper.

None of that mattered anymore if his wife and children were gone because of a newbie officer. So, without thinking but still kind of thinking, Daryl stands-turning and pointing his crossbow at T-Dog. Rick quickly reacted as well, pulling his own Python out and aiming it at Daryl's head and mentally sending an apology to Kingston and her children.

"I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears it." Rick stated, though he knew it was a lie. He did care, he just didn't need for Daryl to call his bluff. With a sigh, realizing that Rick had the upper hand, Daryl lowered his crossbow.

"You got a do-rag or something?" Daryl asked T-Dog, who pulls one of his pocket and hands it to the younger Dixon. In his mind, the years of Kingston's medical knowledge began to play. Her voice whispered in his mind.

"Blade must've been too dull for the handcuffs. Only way out would've been to cut 'is hand." Her voice whispered, making the ache of missing his wife increase. He didn't show it to the group though.

"I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuff," Daryl said aloud, placing the wrapped hand in Glenn's backpack, "Ain't that a bitch."

"Must've used a tourniquet...be much more blood if 'e didn't," her voice whispered and aloud Daryl said, "He must have used a tourniquet...maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't." His mental wife points out the blood trail and he follows her commands with the group following behind him. T-Dog picks up the tools before following the rest of the group.

"Mere? You in here?" Daryl led the group down the stairs, coming to an office. Daryl shot a stray walker while the rest of the group examined the office, determining if it was safe for them to continue on. Instead of finding more 'alive' walker, they simply found two 'dead' ones, bashed in.

"Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches. One handed. Second toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Kingston was the first-didn't take shit from no one and was the only one who could put Merle in his place." Daryl said to the group as the stood in front of the two decaying walkers.

"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is." Rick unfortunately reminded Daryl. Rick didn't have to say it, Kingston already did.

**-TWD-**

Kingston couldn't get out of the barn any faster, she wanted to take her children and run-run as far and fast away as possible. Another part of her wanted to storm into her uncle's house, guns blazing and demand to know why he had nearly twenty walkers locked in his barn. Her kids stood around her, watching their mom stumble over until the twins grabbed both of her arms and helping her sit on the ground with her head between her legs.

"What's wrong Mummy? Did you find walkers?" Ali asked as Kingston let out a few shaky breaths. The twins glared at their sister, making her immediately go quiet. It was rare, the twins could only remember one other time, that their mother became this emotional. She was tough, didn't even flinch when Jack gave her his first stitches because she had broken her 'stitching' hand.

"Aye…"She breathlessly said, slowly looking up at her daughter, "I found somefin' alright," she sat up straighter, looking between her three children, "And I want you tree to promise me you'll stay away from de barn," all three of their mouths opened, no doubtedly to argue, "promise me!" Through mumbled tones, each of them gave a promise to stay away from the barn, which didn't assure Kingston all that much. She wasn't stupid, kids (especially hers) loved to go against what their parents said to prove them wrong.

She could only hope that their logic with how the world now worked would overrule their desire to rule-break.

**-TWD-**

Daryl married an Irish medical genius, he had a daughter who was a genius in art and twins who were soccer (sorry _football_) stars. Stupid things were rarely said in the Dixon household, unless Merle happened to be crashing on their couch because he was too drunk or high to get back to his trashed trailer home.

But this plan certainly took the cake.

"You're not doing this alone." Rick simply stated once Glenn had finished explaining the plan to get the bag of guns from the street.

"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much." Daryl bluntly stated, glancing down at the makeshift map with the office supplies that represented the group and the tank. When Bruce and Jack were younger, they used to have toy crossbows which they'd used to 'hunt' their sister's stuffed animals. They used to draw out maps like this to get the most 'animals'.

"It's a good idea, okay," Daryl certainly didn't think so, "if you just hear me out. If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast," Glenn explained and knelt back down to the map, "Look. That's the tank, five blocks from where we are now. That's the bag of guns and according to Rick, that's where he and Kingston were last together. Here's the alley I dragged you into when we first met. That's where Daryl and I will go."

"Why me?" Daryl questioned, kind of seeing sense in this plan. Unfortunately, it wasn't like they had much to go off.

"Your crossbow is quieter than his gun. While Daryl waits here in the alley, I run up the street, grab the bag and from there we'll see if we can find any clues as to where Kingston went."

**-TWD-**

Not many things made Kingston have a silent grudge against her family members. The last thing she could remember was when she had found out that her sister had slept with her boyfriend at the Christmas party-where it was rumored he was going to propose. Not only did she break it off with him, but she moved to America to study medicine. Several months later-she'd met Daryl.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sleeping with a significant other is somewhat pointless to be angry about now _but _having a barn full of walkers about a hundred yards from where the whole family is sleeping. That was a death wish.

As she and her children weeded and pulled vegetables from the garden for dinner, she would occasionally glance up to look at her uncle Hershel. He and Otis were working on fixing some loose boards on the chicken house-making Kingston grimly think of the phrase 'fox in the hen house'.

Eventually, she grew irritated with herself because of the sneaky looks she was giving her uncle and she rose from the ground, telling her children she'd be back and went over to Hershel and Otis. The two were quietly talking about all the projects that needed to be done around the farm, preferably before winter but soon stopped when they noticed Kingston.

"Hello Queenie." Her uncle said with a smile, making her stomach drop. 'Queenie' was a family nickname she'd had since childhood. It was a simple enough reason-she wasn't a boy so 'King' was out. But the nickname reminded her that this was her uncle, her sweet and wonderful uncle who'd taught her about medicine whenever she and her family came to visit in America. He wasn't some crazy killer who planned to feed the four of them to the walkers he had stored in the barn. However, she held her ground-she needed to know, for the safety of her children and family living on this barn, why walkers were being kept in the barn.

"Ya have a minute Uncle?" She asked, sheepishly placing her hands in her pockets. Her courage was failing as he gave her a wide smile and excused himself from Otis.

"What do you want to talk about Queenie?" her uncle asked after they'd walked far enough from Otis and her children. She took a deep breath, glanced back at the barn and then looked her uncle straight in the eye.

"Why do ya have walkers in yer barn?"

**-TWD-**

It was safe to say that the plan the Asian kid had come up with had gone from bad to worse. And it wasn't even the damn walkers fault-just people's, what looked to be a gang of mexicans trying to build up weaponry. They'd taken Glenn, so...in the heat of the moment, they'd grabbed one of their own.

And this interrogation was going nowhere.

"Those men you were with, we need to know where they went." Rick demanded the kid who sat on the ground with his hands tied behind his back. Daryl stood to the side, his crossbow over his shoulder, and glared at the kid.

"I ain't telling you nothing." the kid spat, making T-Dog glance over at Daryl-who was still glaring at the kid.

"Jesus, man. What the hell happened back there?" T-Dog asked Daryl, who tore his angry glare away from the kid to answer the group.

"I told you, this little turd and his douche bag friends came out of nowhere and jumped me."

"You're the one who jumped me, puto," Oh-this kid was getting his ass kicked, Daryl knew enough Spanish to know what the idiot had called him-his wife certainly called him names in languages he didn't understand when they were fighting, "screaming about trying to find his wife and brother like it's my damn fault." With the way he was talking, Daryl _knew _that the kid had something to do with Kingston or Merle.

"They took Glenn. Could have taken Merle or Kingston too." Daryl said, making both Rick and T-Dog nod. They could see that.

"Merle? What kind of a hick name is that?" Only one person was allowed to say that to Daryl's face-she was currently missing, "I wouldn't name my dog Merle." Daryl goes to kick the kid, ready to let off some of the steam he had bottle up, but Rick quickly grabbed his shoulder to hold him back.

"Damn it, Daryl, back off." In the brief time Rick had been with Daryl, he'd fail to see what had attracted Kingston to him. He was a hot-head, even though his brother was worse, and that was bound to get them killed. It seemed like it'd already gotten Glenn captured. Daryl doesn't go to attack the Mexican kid again, instead, pulling out Merle's hand and holding it in front of the kid.

"Want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" He growled, throwing it in the kids lap.

**-TWD-**

Kingston was out of arrows, so she threw her crossbow aside and stomped up to the target she had set up on the tree. The talk with her uncle hadn't gone well, he believed that the walkers were sick-despite Kingston giving him scientific facts that she'd learned from the CDC that they were anything but. So, in order to blow off some steam (she wished she still had a punching bag) she went to shoot something. She wanted to go hunting but she couldn't leave her kids behind with her uncle in charge-Lord knows what would've happened.

So she opted for taking her anger out on a tree, the arrows she had she'd used had formed the general outline of a man and being shot in the heart, eyes and brain.

"That'd always amazed me," a voice said from behind Kingston as she pulled the arrows out, she glanced back and saw Maggie holding her crossbow, "Forget a shotgun, you had wicked aim with just a bow and arrows-nevermind a crossbow." With a grunt, she'd pulled out the last arrow and walked over to her cousin.

"So who sent ye?" Kingston asked as she loaded the quiver and then loaded her crossbow. She raised the crossbow to her eye, taking aim at the tree but then seeing a squirrel scurrying up and then taking aim at that.

"Daddy," she said as she watched her cousin take aim and then fire at the squirrel, it fell down with a thud, "that's disgusting."

"Ye wanna eat, don't ye?" She asked, walking over and picking the squirrel up. She pulled the arrow out, walked back over to Maggie and her supplies. She picked up the quiver, placed it on her back and turned to the woods. Guess she was going to go hunting. She turned back to her cousin.

"Ye comin?" Maggie glanced back at the house before joining her cousin for a trek in the woods. The two walked in silence for a few moments, Kingston listening to the sounds of the forest (like Daryl had taught her to) and Maggie watching her cousin work.

"Yer not gonna change me mind about dem walkers in the barn." Kingston quietly said to her husband, spotting a deer about twenty yards away from them. She slowly raised her crossbow, taking aim and then firing. The deer fell instantaneously, the arrow piercing the heart.

"I'm not gonna try-I know how stubborn you are. And you certainly didn't get that from your husband." Maggie said with a grin as Kingston walked over to the deer, reloading her crossbow and adjusting the squirrel that was hanging from her neck.

"I'm only stubborn when I'm right." Kingston said, taking aim and shooting a squirrel that was climbing up the tree behind her cousin. Maggie jumped, looking back at the squirrel with wide eyes and then looking at her cousin. "You were fine." She said with a shrug.

**-TWD-**

Rick unzips the bag of guns and starts to divide them.

"Them guns are worth more gold. Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table," Daryl reminded the officer, who didn't say anything in return, "You're gonna give that up for that kid?" He pointed to the ground, where the kid had been placed again when they'd returned from the fort.

It hadn't gone well, like this whole damn trip had, and the only way they were gonna get Glenn back is if they gave them the guns. Now Daryl might not have been a genius like his wife or kids but he knew that there were a thousand and one different things that were wrong with this.

"If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree. But you think that Vato across the way is just gonna hand him over?" T-Dog asked Rick.

"You calling G a liar?" the kid asked, making Daryl's head snap towards him.

"Are you a part of this? You want to hold onto your teeth?" He asked, walking over and slapping him on the back of the head.

"Question is, do you trust that man's word?" T-Dog finally asked, saying what was on the three men's minds.

"No," Daryl blantly said, "question is what are you willing to bet on it? Could be more than them guns. Could be your life. Glenn worth that to you?"

"What life I have, I owe to him and Kingston. I was a nobody to Glenn, just some idiot stuck in a tank. Kingston could have let me been eaten and Glenn could've walked away. But they didn't, so neither will I."

"So you're gonna hand the guns over?" Daryl asked, still not seeing the logic in this plan.

"I didn't say that," Rick reminded him, "There's nothing keeping you two here. You should get out, head back to camp." Like hell Daryl was leaving, Merle might not be here but there still wasn't any proof of where Kingston could've been.

"And tell your family what?" T-Dog questioned, making it obvious that he wasn't leaving either.

**-TWD-**

Kingston whistled for her kids as she and Maggie trekked back to the house. Within seconds, they came running and stood in front of their mother. She passed her kills over to the kids, giving each of them a job. With nods they ran off to do their jobs.

"I'm going to shower," Kingston told her cousin, placing her crossbow on the porch, "tell Hershel I got dinner." Maggie nodded as her cousin turned to go in the house.

"Queenie?" Kingston turned around, "Why don't you think they're sick?" It didn't surprise Kingston that Hershel didn't tell his daughter all the details, only telling her that Kingston was in need of a mind change.

"Because I've seen sick people, dats not it." She answered, entering the house with the screen door slamming shut behind her. Her mind was buzzing, there had to be a way to remove the walkers without causing too much attention. Even if she could kill one every other night, there was still the problem of all the other walkers in the barn.

With a sigh, she entered the bathroom and shut the door, resting her forehead against it. The reason for going to her uncle's was to avoid the walkers, to raise her children in a safe environment. She wanted to be able to continue to teach them, to have them grow up without having to continuously look over their shoulders. They weren't going to get that here with the barn.

"Deres got ta be somefin." She muttered to herself as she undressed, turning on the water and stepped under the shower. As she washed all the sweat and dirt of the day off, her mind wandered-which tended to be a bad habit of hers when she was alone. Her thoughts usually turned to her husband and Rick, wondering if they both were safe.

**-TWD-**

Daryl had seen some strange things in his life, experienced stranger whenever he visited Kingston at the CDC. But seeing that hospital run by thugs certainly topped it all off. Kingston would've been proud to see it.

"Admit it," Glenn said as the four of them walked out of the nursing home, "you only came back for the hat." Rick and T-Dog grinned, Daryl would've smiled...if he had his wife and kids by his side.

"Don't tell anybody." Rick replied with a grin.

"You've given away half our guns and ammo." Daryl sourly reminded the three other men. Yeah, it was for a good cause-but they were still short weapons on the damn walkers. Every little bit counts anymore.

"Not nearly half." Rick reminded him as they continued the walk back to their van.

"For what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow?" Kingston would've slapped Daryl so hard he'd be unconscious right now for that comment, "Seriously, how long you think they got?" He'd be comatose right now for adding on to the previous comment.

"How long do any of us?" They reach where they parked the van…only finding it gone.

"Oh my God." Glenn gasped as the four of them ran to the spot. How were they gonna make it back in time before dark?

"Where the hell's our van?" Daryl demanded.

"We left it right there. Who would take it?" Glenn asked as the other three men looked around, as if hoping the van would simply appear and take them home. As Rick glanced around, he saw a bloodied rag...Merle, and no doubt he was gonna be pissed.

"Merle." Rick said, looking to the others.

"Could've been Kingston." Daryl reminded him but Rick shook his head and pointed to the rag.

"It was Merle."

**-TWD-**

As everyone sat at the dinner table that night, eating the venison that Kingston had caught-Kingston quietly thought of a plan to slowly remove the walkers from the barn. But anything she thought of was quickly tossed aside because it would either make noise or she'd have to have someone help her. And there was no way in hell she was having her kids help and she doubted that any of the Greenes were lining up to get rid of the walkers in the barn.

"Queenie?" Uncle Hershel said, pulling her out of her thoughts, "You've been awfully quiet tonight." Kingston bit her lip, thinking of a proper answer for her uncle.

"Just thinkin'," She finally said and took a small sip of water, "De kids and I'll 'ave to go huntin' so we can stock up fer de winter." The boy's eyes went wide, it was no secret in the Dixon family that the twins adored hunting. Daryl had been so happy when they had the boys, as soon as they were old enough-he was teaching them everything he knew about hunting.

"We've got plenty of time Queenie." Hershel said, making her mentally roll her eyes. She didn't know how she could've been so blind about her family when they first got here. Now, it was so obvious that none of them could last a second in the city.

"Doesn't hurt ta be prepared." She finally said.

**-LATER-**

Kingston pulled herself in the barn, grunting and then standing and dusting the hay off. She picked up the squirrels she'd injured and walked over to the end, tossing it down one by one as the squeaked. Slowly they walked over and Kingston quickly took aim at one in the back of the group, with a thud it fell and she quickly went to work. She set the crossbow down and jumped down at the others continued to eat.

Slowly, with her knife raised in front of her, she walked over to the fallen walker and began to pull him over the homemade pulley (usually for the barrels of hay). Once properly adjusting him in, she got back up above and pulled him up. Once he was up she rolled him over to the exit, pushing him out.

"Shit!" she quietly said as more of his brains splattered into the grass. Cursing at herself, she got down and began to drag him into the forest.

**-TWD-**

Daryl looked around at the dead walkers, seeing if any of them were Kingston, the kids or Merle. Thankfully, none of them were. But that still left him with too many unanswered questions.

Where the hell could they be?

-Note

I have a confession to make...over the summer, as I worked. I'd lost interest in writing. It wasn't providing a challenge for me and so I simply threw myself into work to make money. However, I want to ask my reader a favor.

Comment or message me with things you want to see in any of my stories and I will do everything in my power to do so. I hope that with this, I will be able to creatively challenge myself into thinking of new ideas

Thank you all so much


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

_"I want you to take it, something could happen to one of us-or we get separated. We need something to keep in contact." Rick told Kingston, holding out the walkie-talkie for her to take. She glanced at it before sighing and adding it to her bag of supplies. _

_"Just don't do somefin' stupid and we won't 'ave dis problem."_

"Kingston," Rick began, speaking into the walkie-talkie as he watched the sunrise over Atlanta, "I don't know if you're out there. I don't know if you can hear me. Maybe you're listening now," He sighed, "I hope so. I found others...my family, your husband-if you can believe it. My wife and son, and Daryl-they're alive. I wanted you to know that," he paused again, contemplating his words and the likelihood of Kingston listening, "You were right about Atlanta. It's so...there isn't a word for the horror here. We're camped a few miles northwest, up by an abandoned rock quarry. You can see it on a map," He stopped again, contemplating what else to say, "I hope you come find us. But be careful. Last night walkers came out of the woods. We lost people. Watch yourself Kingston. Take care of the kids. I'll try you again tomorrow at dawn."

**-TWD-**

Kingston was sore, she had spent almost two hours dragging the walker away from her uncle's property in order to burn the damn thing in a ditch. She needed a new system, taking one out a time was going to take too long and she was afraid for everyone she took out, her uncle or Otis would find another few to bring in.

"Momma?" Ali called, cracking open her door and sticking her head in her mother's room.

"Aye?" She wearily asked, removing the comforter over her head and peering out at her daughter. Kingston hadn't been able to sleep after her little adventure last night, she tossed and turned for several hours-thoughts about how Daryl could've been one of the walkers in the barn and she had yet to see him. Her mind wandered, thinking about various scenes of her encountering her undead husband. Needless to say, she was not in a good mood.

"The walkie-talkie Mr. Grimes gave us started going off, but I couldn't understand anything it was saying." Ali said, holding it out for her. With a frown, Kingston sat up and took it from her daughter. She fiddled with a few buttons, held it to ear, smacked it a few times and then threw it on her bed in frustration.

"Nufin we can do," She finally said as she got up, set the walkie-talkie on her nightstand and gently pushed her daughter out of her room, "Lets go get some breakfast." Hope was such a cruel and unnecessary bitch.

**-TWD-**

Daryl couldn't see how the others didn't understand that Jim had to be put down. In the early days of the breakout, his wife explained that the test subjects they encountered had up unto a certain point. After that, they were goners and had to be put down or else they became too dangerous to deal with and there was a higher chance of others to be affected.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl said, looking at the seriously didn't understand these people sometimes. It was in moments like this where he really did miss his wife, yes-there was times where they would but heads but she at least understood his perspective on things.

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane, the jackass of a cop, asked him.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it." Daryl snarkily shot back, not willing in anyway to bend over backwards for the dick.

"I hate to say it," Dale, more or less the peace-keeper in this argument, "I never thought I would...but maybe Daryl's right." Daryl smirked at Shane.

"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." Rick argued, making Daryl wonder how his wife handled him. He still had the old world's viewpoints, he knew that his wife had to have told him _something _about this world. She certainly wasn't stupid enough to let him wander off on his own without telling him something.

"I'm not suggesting…"Dale said, still trying to keep the peace.

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" Rick asked the group, Daryl rolled his eyes.

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, of them to be." He stated, even if he didn't have all the knowledge that Kingston had told him. He would still know that it was now a world of 'us against them'.

"What if we can get him help?" Somehow, Daryl knew what Rick was referring to, "I heard the CDC was working on a cure."

**-TWD-**

"Ya got to keep a steady arm." Kingston reminded the boys as they stood on both sides of her, Bruce holding her bow and Jack holding her crossbow. Ahead of the three of them, two targets were tacked up onto the trees.

"It's getting heavy." Jack complained, making Kingston roll her eyes.

"Ya both 'ave to learn 'ow to hold your own. Ya 'ave to learn 'ow ta easily raise yer weapon, fire and reload." Kingston instructed them.

"Can we fire now?" Bruce asked before Kingston hit them both on the back, making them stumble and release their arrows. Jack's arrow landed just outside the target while Bruce's landed on the outer ring.

"What was that for?!" Bruce complained as they threw their weapons aside and glared up at their mother.

"Dere is never going to be a peaceful moment. Yer never going to 'ave a moment were ya will get da chance to calmly prepare yerself to kill a walker," She explained as she walked over to both targets and removed the arrows, "be ready fer anyting." She picked up the bow, nocked an arrow, aimed and fired-the arrow landing in the middle of the target. She handed Bruce the bow.

"Get ready." She told them. Both boys sighed and began to prepare to fire again at the target. As the boys were getting ready Ali came running to them from the house.

"Uncle Hershel told me to tell you that lunch is ready." Both boys quickly threw their weapons aside, eager to take a break from the training until their mother called them back.

"Ya don't get ta eat until ya fire." Kingston pointed to the targets.

"But mom!" Jack argued.

"Do ya want it to be until ya hit da bullseye?" She offered, making them shake their heads. They go back to their weapons and Kingston stands behind them. Bruce glances back, expecting his mother to hit him again, but she makes him face forward. This time, before they fire, she picks both of them up by the back of their shirts. Flailing around, their arrows somehow were released and made a better progress than their last attempt.

And by better, Jack's arrow landed on the area between the outer ring and the outside of the target and Bruce's still remained in the outer ring. With a sigh, she released them.

"Let's go."

**-TWD-**

Rick can feel Shane's irritation with him. It was obvious to tell with the way that Shane was angrily digging the graves. A part of him does regret his actions, however, he knows that he would have felt worse if he didn't take the chance to go back and try to find Kingston and the kids. He would rather have gone than not.

"Say it." Rick finally said, giving Shane the chance to go off on him.

"Okay," Shane finally spat, throwing his shovel aside, "I'm thinking if you'd stayed here, if you'd have looked after your own...instead you went off. You took half our manpower with you. I'm thinking maybe our losses wouldn't have been so bad."

"If we hadn't gone off and brought those guns back when we did, I think our losses would have been a lot worse. Maybe the entire camp." Daryl pulls up with the truck and jumps out, going towards the two of them.

"I still think it's a mistake not burning these bodies," he voiced yet again, "It's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all, wasn't that the idea?" In Daryl's mind, no matter who it was, a dead walker was a dead walker. It didn't matter if it was once his wife or kids, he knows that she would have wanted them to be burned if the time came.

_"We now in da world of no mistakes." _His wife had said to him.

"At first." Shane answered.

"The Chinaman gets all emotional,says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along? These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are." Honestly, Daryl didn't know what he was saying. Rules? Who's in charge? He guessed that he was still pissed about not finding Kingston or Merle in the city. He wanted someone to keep him stable, preferable Kingston or the kids, because he was afraid that one of these days he would simply blow up-turn into Merle and he knew that then Rick _would _shoot him.

"There are no rules." Rick said, repeating something that Kingston once said to him when they broke into a boarded gas station. At the time, his mindset was still Rick Grimes-officer of the law, Kingston quickly fixed that.

"Well, that's a problem," Lori said, walking up to join them, "We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need time to bury our dead. It's what people do."

**-TWD-**

After lunch Kingston went to the horse stable with Ali, helping her brush the three horses (Nelly, Lucky-Kingston's long time horse, and Dipper). Her mind wandered, thinking about the barn full of walkers. Why on earth would her uncle do something like that? Why was any of her family following it? Beth usually was an obedient little girl, a perfect angel in her uncle's eyes so it was easy to see why she blindly followed her father. Maggie, however, was much more of a 'rebel'-she was usually the one who followed Kingston on crazy and stupid adventures.

"Mommy?" Ali asked, looking up as Kingston stopped brushing Lucky's nose, "Have you figured out," she paused and glanced around, then she gestured for her mother to lower her head, "the walkers in the barn?" She whispered in her mother's ear. With a sigh, Kingston stood back up and resumed brushing Lucky's nose.

"No, not a permanent solution yet." Kingston answered her daughter, making her frown.

"But doesn't Uncle Hershel know that they're dangerous? And scary?" Ali asked as she walked over to Dipper's stall and fed him a few of the carrots she was holding. It was sad, that a little girl could see the danger in the world and yet an elderly man was either blind, stupid or ignorant to the danger.

"No, I don't tink he does." Kingston finally said, setting the brush aside and kissing Lucky's nose. As if sensing her distress, Lucky nudged her shoulder. She helped her daughter finish feeding the horses and then walked back up to the house, she needed to get some fresh air-away from this nuthouse.

"Jack, Bruce, grab your tings." She said as Ali and her walked into the living room, where the boys were playing a simple game of checkers. They looked up in surprise at their mother while Beth walked into the living room from the kitchen.

"Why?" Bruce asked as the two of them stood up to do what she asked them.

"We are going on a run."

**-TWD-**

"I've been, us...I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look," he sighed, "there are no...there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man for a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning." The group stared back at the two men, processing everything that had just been told to them.

"Okay?" Rick finally asked.

**-LATER-**

Before Rick began to speak in the walkie-talkie to Kingston, simply stared at it first. What was the point of this if she couldn't even hear him? Unfortunately, he had no idea if she could or couldn't hear him-so he continued on with it.

"We're moving out," he began, "leaving the quarry. If you heard me yesterday, you may be coming here. If you are, we'll be gone by the time you arrive. I'm leaving a note and map behind for you taped to a red car so you can follow our trail. We're heading to the CDC, if there's anything left. I know that you said you were working towards a cure. I hope you were right about that place. I need you to be."

**-TWD-**

Kingston had received an earful from her uncle when her and the boys came back a couple of hours later. Of course, she had several choice words for him-so they took their argument outside, where there tended to be less nosy family members. Hershel called her brash and unthoughtful, saying that she acted without thinking and he could kick her family off at any moment.

She countered it with gladness, saying that she would rather take her chance in the outside world rather than living on a property with caged animals less than twenty feet away. With that final retort, she stormed off and went to bed. Once she was safe in her room, she picked up the walkie-talkie from Rick and stared at it.

"Why won't ya fuckin' work?" She growled, she wanted something-anything to go on. A few tears escaped from her eyes and landed on it. Throwing that aside, she pulled a folder with the CDC label on the front out of her nightstand and examined the information that Jenner gave her.

She needed something more to prove her uncle wrong.


End file.
